Rilat Teaming Up With BDS Motorsports to Tackle ASCS National Tour in 2018

FORNEY, Texas (Jan. 23, 2018) - Travis Rilat is returning to full-time competition on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour this season for the first time since 2009.

Rilat will drive for BDS Motorsports in a schedule that will include the 40-plus ASCS National Tour events that cover 13 states from coast to coast as well as several other marquee events.

"I'm excited to get back on the ASCS National Tour and compete at the top level," he said. "Bryan, his family and BDS Motorsports will provide a great opportunity to race for wins. I think we'll have a successful season."

Rilat, who captured the 2003 ASCS National Tour championship, has plenty of experience competing at the highest level. He ranks in the top five in career ASCS National Tour A Main starts and top 10s, and he ranks in the top 10 in feature wins and top fives.

Additionally, Rilat has finished in the top five in the ASCS National Tour championship standings during seven seasons and in the top 10 of the standings 10 times.

Rilat and BDS Motorsports captured a win together during the final ASCS National Tour event of last season and the team opened 2018 with a solid run during the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals earlier this month.

"Bryan has a lot of experience so we've gelled pretty quickly in the few races we've run together," he said. "We're both familiar with the sport and we know what it takes to be successful running the ASCS National Tour so I think it's a great team with a ton of potential."

Rilat and BDS Motorsports recorded four top 10s in five sprint car starts together at the end of last season and will kick off the 2018 sprint car campaign Feb. 15-17 at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Fla., for the 17 th annual Ronald Laney Memorial King of the 360s.

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Baughman Scaling Back His Number of Races as He Forms Alliance With Reutzel

Baughman will compete in approximately two dozen sprint car races while shifting his focus to his family and business.

"My kids are growing and are at an age where I want to be able to attend their school and sporting events as well as spend more time at home as a family," he said. "Also, my business is taking off and it's important that I'm prioritizing that so for those two reasons I'm going to scale back the number of races I run."

While Baughman said he will compete in a mixture of 410ci and 360ci winged sprint car events when his schedule allows, he will still have a presence on a weekly basis. Baughman has teamed up with 2015 Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour champion Aaron Reutzel to form Baughman-Reutzel Motorsports.

Reutzel will pilot the No. 87 in approximately 80-to-90 races, including tackling the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions tour and participating in select World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series events.

"My dad (Mike) and I want to still be really involved in racing so we're excited to team up with Aaron, who will focus on 410 racing next season," Baughman said. "I have full confidence he will be able to compete for the All Stars championship and win some races."

"We also want to announce Folkens Brothers Trucking will be a big part of our team so we're thrilled about that," Reutzel said. "I'm beyond excited for next season. Josh and Mike have become great friends of mine and I'm really looking forward to continuing our partnership."

More information about the team, its partners and the plan for 2018 will be released in the near future.

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ASCS Red River looking at 20 Dates In 2018

TULSA, Okla. (December 6, 2017) Going into the fourth year of competition, the American Bank of Oklahoma ASCS Red River Region presented by Smiley’s Racing Products is looking at a 20 race run throughout Oklahoma with events also slated in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.

The 2018 slate is set to open with co-sanctioned events at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour on April 6 and 7. Only one date on the lineup is still listed as a TBA on June 1. In all, 10 tracks are listed on the 20 race lineup with the season running from April through October.

“When we put the schedule together, we wanted to have a solid lineup for teams and fans to follow without wearing them out either. Barring having to reschedule anything, we’ve tried to put the season where everyone races every other weekend with each weekend being a double-header so it’s more financially viable for everyone involved,” commented ASCS Red River Region Director, Terry Mattox.

Oklahoma’s Creek County Speedway takes the bulk of the lineup with six shows. Other Oklahoma ovals include Lawton Speedway with two events and Tri-State Speedway. Five dates in Kansas include stops at Humboldt Speedway, Caney Valley Speedway, Heartland Park Topeka, and 81-Speedway.

The ASCS Red River Region will team up for two dates at I-30 Speedway with the ASCS Mid-South Region. Lucas Oil Speedway in Missouri will see one event with the ASCS Warrior Region co-sanctioning the event.

White Becomes Only Third Woman to Run Full Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour

By Shawn Miller

SOMERTON, Ariz. (Nov. 15, 2017) - Harli White recently became only the third woman to complete a full season on the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour.

"It means a lot that I could finish the tour and not have too many complications throughout the year," she said. "You have to forget about the hard times and keep going. It feels good to accomplish something as big as running the full national tour. I feel blessed to have the support of sponsors, fans, family and everyone who helped us."

White improved throughout the final tripleheader of the season last weekend at Cocopah Speedway, where the action began on Thursday with White placing sixth in a heat race, seventh in a qualifier and third in a B Main to transfer into the back of the main event. She then charged from 22 nd to a 12th-place finish, which was tied for the most cars passed.

"I think we got faster as the night progressed and I got more comfortable," she said. "We were able to race hard and race toward the front. You always hope to do better, but passing cars is where it begins."

White returned to the oval on Friday for Round 2, which she began by maneuvering from sixth to fourth place in a heat race. She then placed seventh in a qualifier before dominating a B Main by winning by more than 10 seconds. White continued that speed in the A Main as she powered from 17 th to 11th, which was the second-most cars passed.

"It was the same situation on Thursday and Friday," she said. "We started at the back of a heat and didn't get many passing points in that or the qualifier so we had to go to a B Main. As the track widened out throughout the night we were able to make moves and move forward."

Saturday's finale opened with White winning a last chance qualifier, which locked her into the ninth starting position for the $5,000-to-win main event.

"Overall, it was a good end to the year," she said. "We went forward all weekend long and didn't tear up anything. On Saturday we got to focus on the track better than on Thursday and Friday and we got the car in position to be as fast as we could be. We did get faster all weekend. Every time we were on the track we got quicker and that's something we can build on."

White closed the night with an eighth-place finish, which marked her seventh top 10 of the season with the series.

She finished ninth in the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour championship standings and second in the Rookie of the Year chase.

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Seth Bergman Triumphant In Lucas Oil ASCS Finale At Cocopah Speedway

SOMERTON, Ariz. (November 11, 2017) A third-place finish to start off the weekend improved to second the following night, and finally, victory for Seth Bergman to close out the 2017 season with the Lucas Oil American Sprint Car Series at the Cocopah Speedway

“We were bad fast all weekend, and we’ve been knocking at the door all year, so to close this season out with a win tonight, it’s something we’ve been working very hard on,” said a jubilant Seth Bergman who gave nothing but high praise and thanks to his family, sponsors, and crew.

Despite the smiles and high-fives, Seth also explained that the win was nearly not, as an issue with the cooling system came close to dashing his hopes of finishing, much less winning.

“We fought a Radiator issue in our Hot Lap session. We had a really bad leak, and we thought we had it fixed but we started the Feature and all the sudden I was soaked. I had coolant all over me, but at that point in my mind, I knew how tough this year and been already and just decided to run it until it wouldn’t run anymore and once we got going, we actually set a pretty good pace.”

Seth’s 10th career Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour score since 2012, the final race of the 2017 season saw 30 non-stop laps and was enough to move Seth into the top-five in the series final standings.

Earning the pole for the $5,000 to win affair, Seth used that front-row starting spot to rush into the lead over the Dissolvalloy No. 87. Keeping Aaron at a 10 car length deficit until the back of the field came into play, both drivers began carefully picking their way through. Bringing Reutzel within striking distance of the No. 23, several chances at a pass were voided as traffic played to the favor of Seth Bergman.

Running through the backmarkers, the two lead cars pulled slide job after slide job through the field with Seth consistently keeping one to two cars between himself and the No. 87 until Lap 20.

“I knew with the guys behind me, I had to run a flawless race, and I made one mistake in traffic when I tried to slide Justin [Sanders] too early and Aaron made me pay for it,” explained Bergman. “When you race with this caliber of drivers, you’re going to pay for your mistakes, and the one mistake I feel I made the entire race cost me.”

Surrendering the lead on Lap 21, Bergman began working to regain his lost momentum. With traffic working into the favor of the Corridor Electric No. 23 once more, Seth began closing the gap with five laps to go. Working back to the No. 87 with a full head of steam, Seth regained the lead in traffic on Lap 28 and would not relinquish the top spot.

Crossing 2.669 seconds ahead of Aaron Reutzel, the No. 87 was also lucky to finish as the engine had started to turn sour in the last few laps. Along with traffic, it all played into the hands of Seth Bergman. Finishing third was Joey Saldana with Sam Hafertepe, Jr. and Wayne Johnson making up the top-five.

A true showing of the pace set by Seth Bergman, as only three drivers failed to finish, Travis Rilat crossed sixth with Jason Solwold and Harli White rounding out the drivers left on the lead lap. First car a lap down in ninth was driven by Lucas Wolfe with Johnny Herrera finishing tenth.

For Hafertepe, the fourth-place run put him finishing the season with a 376 point buffer over second place, and his second career Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour Championship worth $60,000, which was presented to him by series founder, Emmett Hahn, on the front straightaway. Hafertepe ends the season with a record tying 15 Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour wins.

Skylar Gee was also honored with a $2,000 bonus and a set of Brodix Cylinder Heads as the 2017 Rookie of the Year.

With Qualifiers set up by event points, four were contested with Harli White, Matt Covington, Lucas Wolfe, and Justin Sanders picking up wins. The B-Main was topped by Billy Chester. The CP-Carrillo Hard Charger of the Night was Skylar Gee.

The 2018 season is in the works with plans to release the lineup for the series 27th season during the Performance Racing Industries Tradeshow in Indianapolis in December.